247 Horrible Past Life 1 (1/2)

Winter swung his sword with a little more force than usual. As expected, it created a strong wave that created a long and deep crack in the ground. The crack only stopped when it hit and sliced several trees in the forest surrounding his training area.

After that, he returned his sword in the sheath before he turned around to face Vice-Captain Blake, his swords master.

”Yeah, everything is fine,” Winter said in his usual cold voice and blank face that he inherited from his stoic father. ”Father finally decided to divorce my mother.”

Blake looked shocked by his revelation.

”And Father met another woman that he said he wants to marry,” he added, making his poor instructor turn pale. Blake was a loyal follower of his father, and divorce among higher nobles were frowned upon. The Vice-Captain was probably worried about his father since his place in the higher society might be affected by the divorce. ”Don't worry, Blake. Father will be fine even if he divorced Mother. Although my father's wealth is relatively small compared to the wealth that Mother inherited from my grandfather, we'll be fine. Father has already established his position as the empire's pillar. The stuck-up higher nobles can't bully him anymore.”

After all, his father was the most trusted knight of the emperor.

And he, the son of Duke Kiho Prescott, was the heir apparent of Emperor Aku who refused to take another empress after Princess Nia was exiled.

The princess was exiled because of my mother.

”I know that His Grace can take care of himself even after the divorced,” Blake said, then he gave him a look filled of worry. ”I'm worried about you, Young Master.”

Oh, that was a surprise.

He thought that Blake and the Black Serpent Knights only cared about him because he was his father's only son. But it seemed like the Vice-Captain genuinely cared about him.

”I'm fine,” Winter said casually, then he turned his back on Black and walked back to his residence. ”My parents' problem is none of my business anyway.”

***

”I'M GLAD to see that you look fine, Winter.”

”Of course, Your Majesty,” Winter said, then he sipped his tea. Right now, he was in the presence of Emperor Aku because he invited him for an afternoon tea in his garden. Every time he would spend time with the emperor, he would ask his guards to leave the two of them alone. ”Please don't be worried about me. I've always known that my parents would divorce someday, judging by how awful their married life had been so far.”

Well, that wasn't necessarily true.

He had vague, happy memories with his parents when he was still a toddler. His mother hadn't always been that crazy, and his father used to show affection to his mother. Despite everything, he knew that he was loved by his parents.

”You don't have to worry about your parents' divorce,” Emperor Aku said, then he elegantly put his teacup down on the table. ”Kiho's status as a higher noble won't be taken away from him since he already proved himself to be worthy of his title even without Lady Prescott. On the other hand, your mother has too much wealth that she won't be cast aside by the society even if she divorced your father. That's why your position as my heir wouldn't get affected.”

He nodded in agreement. ”I know that, Your Majesty. It's not like people could complain about my family background because even though my parents will be officially divorced soon, they're still a lot better than any of them. My mother is arguably the richest noblewoman in the empire. On the other hand, my father is a duke and the captain of the Black Serpent Knights.

The emperor laughed softly. ”Confident, aren't we?”

He just sipped his tea.

”Well, your blood as a Prescott won't matter anymore once you start attending your official royal duties,” His Majesty said. ”By then, people will start to refer to you as 'His Royal Highness.' That means you'll officially become a part of the royal family.”

In short, I won't be a Prescott by then.

Winter was already the heir apparent to the throne because His Majesty didn't have a son.

But he wasn't officially declared as the crown prince yet. Unlike other empires or countries, the Moonchester Empire heavily relied on the High Priest's visions when it comes to deciding the perfect date for certain big occasions such as his coronation.

According to the High Priest, he shall be hailed as the crown prince during his fifteenth birthday. And that was still three years away from now.

”Winter, that's the reason why I summoned you here,” Emperor Aku continued. ”I have a request.”

”What is it, Your Majesty?”

”Stop your killing spree.”

He froze on his spot when he heard that.

The emperor smiled at him. ”I'm sorry but I had to ask my people to keep an eye on you since you're my successor. I've known for quite sometime now that you're killing people who wronged you instead of going through a proper trial.”

He flinched, but he couldn't deny it.

”At first, I didn't mind because I know that those people deserved to die after they offended you,” His Majesty continued. ”But recently, I heard that you've begun going out at night to seek your next victims. I heard that you're targetting the scums of the society. Although it could be considered as a public service, it will still stain your reputation as the future crown prince if people find out that you're killing our citizens even if they were trash.”

He bit his lower lip before he continued. ”Your Majesty, are you not going to tell Father about what you found out about me?”

”Do you want me to?”

He shook his head. ”Father will hate me if he finds out.”